The Kern Lipid Conference, which was first convened in 1985 and continues to be held annually, explores the complex interplay between lipid metabolism and chronic human disorders such as cardio-metabolic diseases, dyslipidemia, atherosclerosis, and type II diabetes. The overall goals of the Kern Lipid Conference are to: 1) ensure at least 25 percent of meeting participants are early career scientists (graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and Assistant Professors); 2) promote science relating to broad areas of lipid and lipoprotein metabolism; 3) increase understanding of the pathobiology of dyslipidemia; 4) provide an open forum for scientists from both academia and industry to meet and discuss latest research findings related to lipid metabolism; and 5) to provide a unique meeting format in which 50 percent of the time is devoted to formal presentations and 50 percent is for open discussions of the presentations. The 2013 Kern Lipid Conference, entitled Molecular Mechanisms and Pathophysiology of Lipid Storage,will be held July 29 - August 1, 2013 at the Vail Cascade Resort in Vail, CO. The Conference will be co- chaired by Dawn L. Brasaemle, Ph.D. (Rutgers University) and Russell DeBose-Boyd, Ph.D. (University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center). Several aspects related to metabolism and storage of neutral lipids will be examined, including mechanisms for lipid droplet formation and dissolution, the relationships between lipid metabolism and inflammation, health effects and consequences of ectopic (non-adipose) lipid storage, adipose control of insulin sensitivity, mechanisms through which cholesterol, fatty acids, and other lipids regulate gene expression, and how modulation of transcription factors alters lipid uptake and metabolism. The speakers are internationally recognized experts in these topics and employ a variety of experimental approaches ranging from investigations of basic molecular mechanisms to studies of animal and human physiology. The program described in this application will emphasize in-depth discussion of these presentations, which will provide an impetus for development of novel strategies and therapies to prevent the aberrant accumulation of lipids that underlies many of the human disorders of interest to the Kern Lipid Conference. Importantly, the meeting continues to be a scientific agenda that encourages the attendance and participation of early career scientists in the Conference, enabling them to discuss research on a one- on-one basis with highly established scientists.